UW Oshkosh News and Notes
UW
- Oshkosh Wrestling
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12/5/04 Update!
UWO Schedule
2004-2005 (word.doc)
ONE ON ONE: SEAN FORTMANN**TEAM CAPTAIN
Q: How did conditioning practice help to prepare the team for all the
challenges they’re facing this season?
A: We were able to get in better cardiovascular shape and it’s been a
good opportunity for the new
guys to meet all the veterans of the team. It also helped to build a sense
of comradery between us.
Q: What are the main goals you are aiming to achieve as team captain this
year?
A: My main goal is to be a bridge between the coaches and the team, and I
feel that it is my
responsibility to lead by example, both on and off the mat.
Q: What is your outlook as we’ve just begun the last year of your
college wrestling career?
A: It really hasn’t sunk in that it’s my last year yet. It is kind of
weird that it’s coming to an end
because it’s been part of my life for so long, but at the same time, I’m
looking forward to never
having to worry about making weight anymore.
Q: How did you view the team the first day of official practice?
A: I was excited because we had a good mix of vets and young guys and had
already had a good
chemistry built up from captains practices.
Q: How do you perceive the team at this point in the season?
A: Injuries have hurt us a little bit, but everyone’s been working
really hard though. We haven’t quite
had the success early on either, I believe the hard work is going to pay
off at the end of the season.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a member of this team?
A: It’s just great to be a part of something and part of a program that
we’re trying to build up to
national prominence.
Q: What is your favorite part about being team Captain?
A: Sometimes it’s really hard and it can suck, but it’s nice that your
coaches and your teammates think
enough of you to put you in that role. So, it’s nice to get the chance
to set the example and lead everyday by that example.
Q: If you were to pick just a few, minus your awesome team, who are you
number one supporters?
A: My family, my mom, brother, and sister-in-law, and my friends and
roommates.
Q: Are there any last words you’d like to share with the team, fans, and
UWO Wrestling lovers out there?
A: On behalf of the team, I would like to thank everyone for their support
thus far, and I want to ask
your continuing support for Titan wrestling because the best is yet to
come!!
COACHES CORNER:
DeROEHN ~ “I'm happy with the overall intensity level of our team right
now. I
feel that we've been training very hard to reach our high team and
individual
goals. We don't have as much depth as I'd like but that will come over the
next few
years as we continue to build. In our competitions thus far, we have been
in better
shape than our opponents, our position is continuing to improve, and the
majority of
the guys are wrestling that "aggressive, combative" style which
is what we strive
for. Being able to push the action because of superior conditioning, not
breaking
position, and pressure wrestling is going to pay dividends in the near
future.
We have a great challenge ahead of us when we return from Thanksgiving
break
as five out of the teams we wrestle are currently ranked in the top 25
nationally.
I see this as our opportunity to make some noise on a national level
before breaking
for the semester. "
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
We just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Matiash and his wife Jodi
on their new baby girl!!! Josie Rae Matiash was born two weeks early on
September 24th at 7 lbs, 6 ounces. So, in addition to all of our new
recruits, Nick and Jodi now have their first. Congrats once again from all
of the Titans!! We’d also like to mention that if there are any comments
or ideas for our newsletter, please send
an e-mail to titannews@wiwrestling.com We would more than love to hear
from you!
WITH THAT, UNTIL NEXT TIME… |
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To: The Wrestling Community
From: U.W.O. Wrestling
Re: THANK YOU!
Date: October 2004
Hello! We hope you are having a
great start to the school year and are as anxious about the upcoming
wrestling season as we are. We want to update you on the progress
that we’re making with the wrestling program at the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The
Titan Wrestling program has never been on as solid ground as it is today.
We have well surpassed our first year fundraising goal of $20,000 for the
“Dan Gable Commitment to Excellence Fund”, which is the endowment
created to enhance and secure wrestling at UWO against any unforeseen
future tribulations. We have outstanding administrative support from
our athletic director, as well as the entire athletic/academic
community. They have demonstrated their good faith and commitment to
wrestling at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh by building a NEW
Wrestling Room in the Kolf Sports Center. This is the first time in
the history of the program that UWO Wrestling has had a year round first
class training facility.
 
The
Titan Wrestlers are working hard to achieve both on the mat and in the
classroom. Last season the team posted their highest overall Team GPA
since we began the resurrection process of this once proud program.
It is at
this time, that the UWO Titan wrestlers, coaches, parents, and fans would
like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone in the wrestling
community from Wisconsin and across the nation who helped us fight back
from near elimination two seasons ago. Special thanks go out to the
National Wrestling Coaches Association and the legend, Dan Gable who
continues to support us through the endowment, as well as the annual Dan
Gable “Commitment to Excellence” Open, taking place January 15th,
2005. Without the many emails, phone calls, donations, and
relentless support from all of you, we would not be writing this letter
saying
thank you today.
We are
still “fighting the battle” but continue to grow strong and
blossom. We are proud to say that we’re still here and hope that
UWO can serve as a positive model in the fight against the elimination of
wrestling programs across the country.
We hope
that everyone has a prosperous wrestling season, and once again, THANK YOU
for everything that you may have done to support us in the past, present,
and future. GO TITANS!
Sincerely,
Larry
Marchionda
UWO Wrestling Administrator
Mike
DeRoehn
UWO Head Coach
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Posted Aug. 07, 2004
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| Titans eyeing
future Wrestling recruits solid
By Chuck Carlson
of
The Northwestern
It seems a lifetime ago now since the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh wrestling program hung on the
precipice of extinction.
And if coach Mike DeRoehn has learned nothing else since those days a
year and a half ago when the future of
the program hung in the balance due to budget concerns, he’s learned
just how nice it is to know there’s a program to coach every day.
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“It’s going to be a good year,” he said. “We have a new
wrestling room and that’s going to help our morale. We have a lot of
seniors and we have the potential to do well if everyone does well and
works hard from start to finish.”
After a surprisingly strong 2002-03 season that saw Oshkosh post a
10-5 dual meet record, the Titans stumbled last year, finishing with a
6-10 dual meet record and finishing sixth out of seven schools in the
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet.
But DeRoehn welcomes in a recruiting class of six wrestlers, including
one transfer and one high school state champ, which he hopes will help
the program turn the corner.
“I think the talent level is really high for this group of kids,”
he said. “It’s much more of a daily grind (at this level) and all
the freshmen come in and take some lumps they aren’t used to
getting. It’s their level of character. It’s a matter of being
able to see a light at the end of the tunnel and being able to
persevere.
“But these guys are all well-coached and they are a hard-working
bunch of guys.”
Leading the way among the newcomers figures to be Kaukauna’s Jeremy
VanSchyndel, a two-time WIAA third-place state finisher, who wrestled
at 125 and 133 pounds for Augsburg (Minn.) College last year and
posted a 12-7 record.
“He has been at one of the premier programs for a year,” DeRoehn
said. “We expect him to contribute.”
DeRoehn is also expecting help from heavyweight Pat Detmer, who won a
state championship last winter for Lodi High School.
“I think they both have potential to come in and help us out,”
DeRoehn said. “If things work out the way we’d like, I’d like
Jeremy and Pat to be in the lineup or at least helping out. They’re
going to be hungry every day to break into the lineup.”
Also joining the program this season will be 149-pounder Kevin Luedtke
from Two Rivers; Abraham Ziamehr, a 157-pounder from Mounds High in
Ardend Hills, Minn.; Justin Linzmeir, a two-time sectional qualifier
from DePere and B.J. Rynne, a state qualifier in 2003 from Necedah.
“I think they all have the potential to come in and help us,”
DeRoehn said. “It’s hard to say with any of the guys because you
never know. There could be a guy in the room who could beat out a
state champion or a high-place state winner.”
Casey Zertuche contributed to this report. |
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**TITANS**
UWO WRESTLING
**TITANS**
TITAN NEWSLETTER
EDITION 3
March - 2004
Welcome
once again to another edition of the Titan Newsletter!!!
In March’s edition you will find:
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What's Happening Now/Upcoming Events
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New & Improved: Wrestling Room & Recruiting
Report
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One-On-One w/ Senior Luke Madson
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Coaches Corner
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**Just a reminder to
check out the wrestling web site online for updated results, schedule,
and stats at:
http://www.titans.uwosh.edu/wrestling/
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SO
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW…
The Titan Wrestling team is currently in their off season, however,
they are still keeping active. The wrestling room is open for
the guys to get in there if they find some time to practice and to
improve for next year. Many of the wrestlers are looking into
helping with kids camps and other wrestling programs coming up this
spring and summer. This team is not shy to keep a positive image
going by doing community service projects, such as donating their time
to help at the Rotary Club Wine Feast on March 26th (*see more in COACHES CORNER).
Great things are still in progress and more are yet to come from this
Oshkosh Wrestling Club, so keep your eyes and e-mail inbox's wide
open!
Also,
coming up in the beginning of April is the Banquet for the Oshkosh
Wrestling Club. It will be held Saturday, April 3rd at Vitales
Italian Restaurant in Oshkosh (*see more in COACHES CORNER).
The banquet will feature USA Olympic Coach, Rob Hermann. Coach
Hermann's accomplishments include being the Head Coach of the USA
Military Academy - Annapolis, a (3) three-time USA Greco National
Champion, and a World Silver Medalist. We look forward to having
him as our guest and look forward to seeing most of you there!
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New & Improved:
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We
are happy to announce that our Administration has made a
commitment to excellence and has constructed a NEW Wrestling
facility in the Kolf Sports Center. This is a real big turn
around for us. The construction will need a few finishing
touches, but it will certainly help wrestling at our University
and the WIAC as well.
- Larry Marchionda
Wrestling Administrator |
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One
of the hardest jobs an athletic director has is telling a group of
student-athletes that their sport is going to be discontinued. To have
wrestling one year later, and to know that it is going to be
continued, is a very comforting thought. Not only has it been saved,
but for the first time in the history of wrestling at UW Oshkosh, the
team has a new, first-class wrestling practice facility.
- Al Ackerman
Athletic Director
UW - Oshkosh |
Recruiting...
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Along with new things for UW Oshkosh
Wrestling, we have been in the process of recruiting for new
wrestlers over the past few weeks. Oshkosh Titan-Wrestling has been
inviting very talented athletes, academically and physically, to visit
the Oshkosh campus for a day. They had the chance to meet with
Co-Head Coaches DeRoehn & Matiash, Wrestling Admin. Larry Marchionda,
and Titan Athletic Dir. Al Ackerman. During the day they were shown
around campus and later on enjoyed lunch with all of the current Titan
Wrestlers. It was a great experience for both our wrestling club as
well as these young athletes.
We would like to mention that one
recruit, Pat Detmer (Lodi), State Champion (D-2) at 275 lbs., will be
attending UW-O in the fall and hopes to be a positive asset to the
Titan Wrestling Team! |
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NOW IT’S
TIME FOR THIS ISSUE’S ONE-ON-ONE W/ LUKE MADSON!!!
LUKE IS A SENIOR
WRESTLING AT 141 THIS YEAR AND
FINISHING A DOUBLE
MAJOR IN MARKETING & HUMAN
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT. LUKE IS GRADUATING IN MAY OF THIS
YEAR (2004) AND HAS
WRESTLED HIS COLLEGE CAREER AT "JUST
GOOD OL 141." HERE
HE IS, JUST FOR US, LUKE MADSON... ... ...
Q: How long have you wrestled at UWO and why?
A: I've been wrestling here for five years
now. One year I took a medical red shirt for my
shoulder. I think the reason I have wrestled
here this long is the people. I absolutely love the
coaching staff, and my teammates are some of my
best friends.
Q: What aspect did you like most about
wrestling here?
A: Again the coaching staff and my teammates
are great.
Q: What could you best say about your team as
the season progressed?
A: Just everyone's work
ethic. I mean we were still a pretty young team this year, and I think
everyone did a really great job of continuing to
work hard and not burning out... it does get
to be a really long
season.
Q: What was your hardest moment(s) in
wrestling this year? Ever?
A: Well I guess it's
kind of a tie between having to over come my elbow injury this year, and
coming off the mat for the
last time at the conference tournament this year.
Q: Why did you choose Oshkosh?
A: The reason I chose
Oshkosh was because they have a good business program, and I wanted
to wrestle!
Q: What is your goal from UWO? What are your
plans for the future?
A: To get an education
so I can get a good job when I'm done. I also want to have plenty of fun
before I leave, so I have
some good memories to look back on.
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***Coaches
Corner***
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We
should mention the community service:
The wrestling team lent some
muscle to the Rotary Club on Friday night. The rotary club hosted a
wine feast as a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh. It
was at the Oshkosh City Center were vendors served over 900 people.
Hundreds of tables were
spread across the length of the city center. After 3 hours of
teamwork they were all loaded in the back of a semi to be returned. |
Banquet:
The banquet will be this
Saturday at the locally owned Italian restaurant, Vitale's. This year
we will have a featured speaker, Ron Herman. He is an Olympic
wrestling coach and a collegiate coach for Annapolis. We will be
reviewing last season and handing out awards. We will also be
discussing the next season and what we should expect of ourselves.
With the amount of returnees we have again, we will be transitioning
from a young team to a team with many experienced wrestlers. |
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Wrestling room:
The wrestling room is
continually improving. Thanks to time and attention from the
wrestlers that call it home, the room has really become a top-notch
facility. Thanks also go out to the maintenance department and the
administration for getting it put together. With the walls cushioned
and the floor more fully covered in mats, it will be even better than
it was this season. |
Lifting:
Now that the competitive
season is over, the wrestling team has been lifting as a group. Group
times have been 6 A.M. and 3:00 in the afternoon depending on
schedules. At this time of year, the focus is on building strength.
As next season gets closer, the focus will shift to building muscular
endurance while maintaining strength. |
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Camps:
Camp brochures are
available for the summer camps. For anyone who is interested in
getting a taste of college wrestling UWO style, the intensive camp
will push their limits. Brochures are available at the Kolf Sports
complex. The sports camp office can also be reached at (920)
424-0294. |
Freestyle
and Greco club:
A
freestyle and Greco club has been initiated at by some of the UW
Oshkosh wrestlers. At Oshkosh North High School on Mondays
and Wednesdays, area high school and college
wrestlers will be gathering to get in some mat time and share
freestyle and Greco techniques. It is a great opportunity to
gain some additional wrestling experience.< SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> (Ask Justin Lancaster for any more info) |
We'd also like to
mention the dominating performance by Coach DeRoehn's Kids Club wrestlers
at state this past weekend. A huge congrats goes out to all of the
little Titans at heart from all of us Titans here!
(Coach's Corner):
The year has culminated with
the conference tournament. Already preparation has begun for the next
year. Our success will depend on the level of preparation that takes
place before next season. Not just the physical preparation, but the
mental preparation. Many of the returnees can be expected to come back
solid and ready to dominate. We also have new wrestlers coming in, but
they will need to prove themselves before anyone can tell how they will
factor in. November tournaments will be here again before we know it.
Let's get ready!
Mike DeRoehn, Co-Head
Coach
Nick Matiash, Co-Head
Coach |
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UW Oshkosh
Announces NEW WRESTLING FACILITY!
Announcement from UW Oshkosh Wrestling Coordinator Larry
Marchionda
The New Wrestling Room has just been completed at the University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh.
We are happy to announce the Administration at University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh have made a commitment to excellence and just
completed the New facility for wrestling.
We have a few finishing touches to make and will have what we consider
one of the best wrestling facilities in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (WIAC).
The wrestling facility is complete with large storage area,
video equipment and stereo sound.
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"One of the hardest jobs an athletic director has is telling a
group of student-athlete that their sport is going to be
discontinued. To have wrestling one year latter and know that it
is going to continued, is a very comforting thought. "
"Not only has it been saved, but for the first time in the history
of wrestling at UW Oshkosh the team has a practice wrestling
facility."
Al Ackerman, Athletic Director
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
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Posted Jan. 22, 2004
Muckerheide rolling for UW-Oshkosh wrestling team
By Dave Lubach
Sheboygan Press staff
Bad grades kept Nathaniel Muckerheide from the sport he loves for one
semester of college.
He vows not to let it happen again.
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh junior heavyweight was ineligible
for the first semester of the 2003-04 wrestling season.
After returning to action Jan. 10, Muckerheide, an Oostburg graduate,
started making up for lost time.
Muckerheide pinned all three of his opponents to win the heavyweight
title in the Simpson (Iowa) Invitational.
Muckerheide was on the mat for only 87 seconds as he pinned three
opponents, including the seventh-ranked wrestler in NCAA Division III.
The performance earned him Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
wrestling athlete of the week honors for Jan. 5-10.
Muckerheide is 6-0 on the season. And happy for a second chance to
wrestle.
“I was wrestling in open tournaments, but it wasn’t the same,”
Muckerheide. “I don’t want to go through it again. (Not being able
to wrestle) was not a fun thing.”
More wrestling
UW-Platteville Ryan Rozek, a Plymouth graduate, was nominated for the
WIAC athlete of the week Jan. 5-11. |
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Posted Dec. 13, 2003
UWO
wrestling alive and doing well
After an offseason of uncertainty, the Titans are back on
the mat
By Chuck Carlson
of
The OshkoshNorthwestern
It is back to normal, relatively speaking, for the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh wrestling program.
The dark clouds have parted and the threat of extinction
seems to be over for a program that nine months wasn’t
sure if last season literally would be it’s last season.
“The program is safe as far as we know,” said
co-coach Mike DeRoehn. “The chancellor (Richard Wells) and
(athletic director) Al Ackerman have been very supportive of
us. They’ve helped turn things around.”
It was just last March when the UWO wrestling program was
faced with the possibility of being eliminated as part of a
$250 million UW system-wide cut in state support brought
about by a more than $3 billion state budget deficit.
And while cutting wrestling would have resulted in just a
fraction of the savings needed, university officials
explored it before coaches, athletes and fans raised a
protest.
In the end, the program was saved and a fund-raising
effort in under way to form a $200,000 endowment in which
the wrestling program can survive on the interest earned.
Nearly $20,000 has been raised for the Dan Gable Commitment
to Excellence Fund, named for the nearly legendary former
Olympic gold medalist and long-time college wrestling coach
who spoke at a fund-raiser in Oshkosh in March and made a
donation to the fund.
”He’s an icon in the sport,” DeRoehn said. “That
was huge.”
And now that the program appears safe, wrestlers do what
wrestlers do and forge ahead.
“It was never anything personal (with the university),”
said DeRoehn who is the co-head coach along with Nick
Matiash. “It was just the way the budget was. It comes
with the territory and it’s one of the challenges we face.
That’s how wrestling is — you face challenges and you
taken them on.”
And it has been all of that a little more for the Titans
on the mat, who made huge strides last season despite all
the controversy.
They even headed into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference tournament brimming with a confidence
and hoping to not only win the title but also send several
wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament.
Neither happened. The Titans finished fifth out of seven
teams in the WIAC tournament and only one wrestler even made
it to the final match.
“Nick and I were young coaches last year and we pushed
and pushed,” DeRoehn said. “We felt like we pushed them
real hard and they kind of fizzled at the conference
tournament. Now we’re focused on peaking them for the
conference tournament and the NCAA.”
To do that, the Titans have had to wade through a tough
early season that has seen injury, ineligibility and
inexperience take its toll. UWO is 2-4 in dual meets and has
struggled against a tougher schedule. But DeRoehn is
confident a new year will bring new results.
“If everything falls into place we should have a solid
team in the second semester,” DeRoehn said. “Hopefully
we’ll get the whole team firing on all cylinders.”
The key date is Jan. 10 when the Titans return to action
in the Simpson College Invitational in Iowa. By then,
DeRoehn hopes to have two key wrestlers sidelined by injury
— 141-pound senior Luke Madson and 157-pound junior Justin
Lancaster — back as well as junior heavyweight Nate
Muckerheide, who missed the fall season with academic
problems.
Those losses though have also allowed younger wrestlers
to get their chances. DeRoehn has been pleased with the
performances of 133-pound freshman Doug Rozelman, 174-pound
junior Sean Fortmann and 165-pound junior Jason Gruszynske.
But this remains a young team with 10 freshmen and only
three seniors.
“Some guys are going to have to take their lumps,”
DeRoehn said. “But it’s a new season and a fresh start.”
Chuck Carlson: (920) 426-6662 or
ccarlson@thenorthwestern.com |
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Archive November
1-December 12, 2003 UW O Archive |
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